(1) As several readers have already pointed out, there are no surprises with the Canadian short list. All the Canadian riders who jumped around a CCI3* or CCI4* this spring with less than 20 penalties for the XC phase made the list.
Hawley Bennett-Awad and Gin & Juice
Diana Burnett and Manny
Kyle Carter and Madison Park
Rebecca Howard and Riddle Master
Michelle Mueller and Amistad
Selena O’Hanlon and Colombo
Jessica Phoenix and Exponential
Stephanie Rhodes Bosch and Port Authority
Ian Roberts and Napalm
(2) Canadians should be excited about the list. It doesn’t take an insider to see that there are a 9 quality pairs on the short list, and the Canadian selectors are really happy to have some tough decisions to make this year. This is certainly shaping up to be the best team that Canada has sent to an international competition during my riding career, and perhaps some of our more experienced readers can speak to whether or not this is the best Canadian short list ever.
(3) Much of the credit for the development of such a quality team needs to be given to David, Dr. Ober, and farrier Randy Pawlak. Dr. Ober and Randy have been working with David since well before he started coaching the Canadians, and the three of them make a fantastic team. Lots of credit is also due to the great folks at Equine Canada and Canadian Eventing for putting the right people in the right place and giving them the right powers.
(4) But, don’t go popping your bottles of maple syrup in celebration of WEG gold just yet Canada. The top four Canadians were 10th through 5th at Rolex, whereas the top four US short listed riders were placed 2nd through 7th, and that was with Leyland, My Boy Bobby, Ballynoecastle, and TruLuck sitting the weekend out. On paper, I expect Canada to have anywhere from the 4th to 6th best team going into the WEGs. But, we all know the World Equestrian Games are not competed on paper.
(5) All that being said, I’ll go out on a limb right now and predict that Canada will medal at the WEGs. The Canadian list is young, but it’s mentally tough and the Canadians will be riding without the huge amounts of expectation or attention compared to Great Britain or the US. A young confident team riding with everything to gain–that’s a recipe for success.
(6) As a final note, like the US short list, the Canadian short list is short. With only 9 names, there is not a ton of room for error in terms of pre-4* attrition. Canada, like the US, can send up to 6 pairs to the WEGs for eventing.
Several commenters said the 6 Canadian WEG pairs were easy to predict, so I’m giving Eventing Nation a chance to do just that. Pick your 6 pair Canadian WEG team:
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